INDIA’S MISSION
TO THE MOON
Dinkar
Shukla*
Although a formal
announcement is yet to be made, the Prime Minister, Shri Atal
Bihari Vajpayee, gave a virtual ‘go ahead’ to India’s first moon
mission. This was in the course of his address to the nation on
the 56th Independence Day. He specifically declared in his address
from the Red Fort that India would send an unmanned spacecraft
to the moon by 2008.
From the deadline
- 2008 - indicated by the Prime Minister, it is clear that the
formal announcement is round the corner. Five years of rigorous
preparation is needed to enable us to send our spacecraft to the
moon. Significantly, in his Independence Day – eve address to
the nation, the President, Shri A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, also hinted
at the need to explore other planets – read the moon – in search
of minerals.
Shri Vajpayee’s
announcement is noteworthy on two counts. First, the spacecraft
to go to the moon is being named ‘Chandrayan One’. The second
point that he made is quite important. Stating that India is now
ready to fly high in the field of science, he underlined that
it would be our own spacecraft which is being planned for the
moon mission. This was a clear message to the nation as well as
to the world at large that it will be a purely indigenous programme
based on the technology developed and capacity acquired by our
scientists, technologists and physicists.
According to
a report on the proposed lunar project prepared by the National
Physical Laboratory, Ahmedabad, there will not be any need for
foreign collaboration in technical, scientific and other fields.
This is so because scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research are fully
competent to devise, design and develop the lunar spacecraft.
India also has an established capacity to launch the spacecraft
so as to enable it to embark upon its 3,84,470 km long five-day
journey to the moon.
According to
Dr. R. Kasturirangan, the noted space scientist, and former Chairman
of ISRO, preliminary studies for undertaking the lunar mission
have been underway for two years. These and related preparations
will pick up speed and direction once the formal ‘go ahead’ signal
comes from the Government. Taking into account the preparations
already made in the past more than two years, it may not be a
surprise if the moon launch is accomplished earlier than schedule.
In any case,
the proposed unmanned mission will make use of the established
space capabilities developed through the PSLV (Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle), the GSLV (Geo-synchronous Launch Vehicle) and
other indigenous Indian satellites. Sophisticated observation
instruments developed by India will also be used in the mission.
According to
an ISRO note, preliminary analysis shows that both the PSLV and
the GSLV rockets developed by India are capable of sending spacecraft
to the moon. What is required to be done is to enhance their fuel
capacity and to make suitable modifications in the upper stages
of the rockets so as to incorporate the trans-lunar injection
stage.
The primary purpose
of the project will be to carry out scientific observations and
investigations of the moon. More importantly, the origin of this
only natural satellite of the earth will be studied to find out
if the moon has any traces of water, as hinted in some explorations.
Another scientific objective will be to study particles and radiation
environment in the vicinity of the moon. There is also the urgent
need to understand the distribution of rare elements through Gamma-ray
spectrometry and for detailed mapping with high-resolution stereoscopic
photography. The detailed aspects of surface composition of sub-groups
of rocks also need to be studied and an analysis of comet dust
over the moon’s surface undertaken. The list is long.
According to
Dr. Kasturirangan, our idea is to look at the physical, chemical
and physiochemical characteristics and the craters on the moon.
"We are not looking into something which others have already
looked into and are debating", he says.
As for the launch,
the National Physical Laboratory’s report suggests three options.
The first one envisages a fly-by mission in which the spacecraft
can be sent upto the moon. It will return to the earth without
touching the lunar surface. The second option envisages landing
on the moon. The last option which is the favoured one is to send
a low altitude Polar Orbiter to the moon. This option is being
favoured because it is considered as the most practicable and
the least expensive. The Polar Orbiter can be designed and developed
at ISRO’s satellite centre in Bangalore without entailing a heavy
budget. The project can be executed with an outlay of Rs. 350
crore which is just five per cent of an increase in the country’s
overall Space budget. Compared to the top-heavy funding required
in space programmes this is quite a small amount.
The Polar Orbiter
will be able to circle the moon at a height of nearly 100 km above
the lunar surface. Once in the orbit, it will facilitate various
space experiments, collect data and take images from its high-tech
cameras and transmit them to the ground station. It will also
be the main source of experimentation in X-ray spectrometry.
The lunar programme
has spurred a debate on the desirability of a developing country
like India embarking upon such an ambitious project. Critics say
that undertaking it will be at the cost of other vital sector
priorities. But Dr. Kasturirangan affirms that the issue is not
whether India can afford the lunar probe. It is whether India
can afford to ignore it.
Dr. George Joseph,
who heads the lunar task force of ISRO, insists that the moon
mission is definitely going to boost India’s scientific capabilities
and knowledge. He cautions against any narrow view of the matter,
holding that scientific programmes and missions take time to benefit
the society at large. In any case, the spin-offs of these technologies
for down-to-earth purposes will be immense.
In a press interview,
Dr Joseph mused that if one talked of instant advantages then
Dr. Homi J. Bhabha, father of our atomic programme, could not
have started it as far back as over half a century. In fact, doubts
about our scientific programmes were raised when India had embarked
upon its first Antarctica mission in the early 1980s. The advent
of colour TV was similarly criticised as a luxury India could
ill-afford.
Today when China,
Japan and the European Union are planning their lunar missions
should India lag behind? After all, ours is a space-faring nation
credited with having made a considerable advance in space technology
akin to a very few countries in the West. It cannot overlook the
possibility of exploiting the abundant mineral and metal resources
on the moon. There have been statements about the moon being the
future source of power.
Those involved
in our lunar programme say that India is not planning the mission
just to demonstrate its space skills, capabilities and expertise.
It is being pursued so that India benefits from it in the long
run. Dr. Kasturirangan says that the Indian space programme is
indeed aimed at fulfilling the country’s practical requirements.
It would motivate our scientists greatly.
In the ultimate
analysis, the moon mission is bound to electrify the nation and
fire its imagination with a great impact on the national psyche.
To quote Dr. J.V. Narlikar, the noted astrophysicist, there is
also the intellectual challenge that comes now and then and prompts
an individual or a civilisation to rise and meet it. India, he
adds, has a tradition of taking up such challenges.(PIB Features)
*Senior
Journalist, Bhopal
